Episode 1233: Baby Powder and Baby Cakes
Date June 21, 2018 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about Steven Brault’s national-anthem performance, Brandon Morrow’s ignoble injury, the Kelvin Herrera trade, banana ambivalence, a suspicious baby-powder puff, Vinny Castilla’s bat-boning, an interleague-play update, Jose Urena’s control, the New Orleans Baby Cakes and minor-league team names, the senseless Giants-Marlins beanball war, the debut of Jonathan Loaisiga, and a sound-of-strikes study, then answer listener emails about hoax broadcasts, Jon Gray’s confusing stats, public pitcher MRIs, whether American teams license their names to Asian teams, managers whose ages are higher than their teams’ win totals, linking DHs to starting pitchers, the most games played in a single season, pitchers who don’t know which batters they’re facing, trading draft picks for Mike Trout, baseball mulligans, and the ideal baseball era, plus Stat Blasts about Rich Sauveur and the longest rookie eligibility periods and the most beneficial batter strikeouts ever. Topics * Could you tell if a game was a hoax on radio * Jon Gray FIP and ERA difference * Public MRI results * Team licences * Longest Rookie eligibility * Best strikeout of all time * Less wins than years manager was alive * Most games played in a single season * A new DH rule * How many draft picks for Mike Trout * Mulligans * Pitchers not knowing who they are facing * Ideal era Intro * Sparks, "Angst in My Pants" Outro * Elton John, "White Lady White Powder" Banter * Singin’ Steven Brault * Brandon Morrow injury * Bananas * Royals early trade * Another possible in play fart? * Interleague play thus far * Vinny Castillo bat boning * Giants Marlins stupid rivalry * Jose Urena * Cool minor league hats and names * Jonathan Loaisiga's nickname * Sound of Strikes follow up Email Questions * Elliot: While listening to the Dodgers v. Pirates game on the radio this evening, I came to the irrational dilemma that I couldn't prove the game was actually happening. Being in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, I don't see any live games, so who's to say that the 'tin-foil hats' aren't right and the whole thing is scripted to make Money. My questions is: if an entire game - play by play, color, analysis, commentators stories from being a player, observations of fan hi-jinks, commercial breaks, other game highlights, etc. - was written by a screen writer like, say, Arron Sorkin, would you be able to tell? What would tip you off? * Ben: Haven't seen a game he's pitched yet this year, but what is going on with Jon Gray??? xFIP of 3.03 but ERA of 5.89. I mean I get pitching in Colorado can be tough, but that can't be it. Where does the discrepancy come from? * Chris (Patreon): Following from the Othani discussion - what do you think would happen if every pitcher in MLB had to have an MRI on their shoulder and elbow in pre-season and the results from every scan were made available for all teams, reporters, bloggers and the general public? * Nat:Why can Japanese and Korean teams use names like the LG Twins (with uniforms that look quite a bit like the Minnesota Twins) and the Yomiuri Giants (with uniforms that look quite a bit like the SF Giants)? Aren't those names and uniforms trademarked? Although I assume that US trademark law doesn't reach Asia, I figure that US courts could make like unpleasant enough for the teams (including companies like LG) that they would change the name. Do US teams license the names to Asian teams? * Michael: At 40 years old, Kevin Cash is the youngest manager in the big leagues. The Rays currently sit at 29-35 and while things aren't quite this dire for them yet, this got me thinking. Has any team ever finished a season with fewer wins (or losses) than their manager's age? Given that some have managed into their 80s I feel like it has but am not sure. Given the trend of teams hiring younger managers, will this soon be impossible? Even in a world where the Reds exist. * Andrew (Patreon): What is the most number of games in which a player has appeared in a single season? If two teams are looking a pure rental at the trade deadline but one has 5 extra regular season games than the other, would you expect it to affect their offers? (I'm guessing probably not because those rentals are really more for the postseason than the regular season). -If a player was chasing a season milestone record and he was traded from one team to another solely so he could have 5 extra games, how would people view his record? * Jody: For the last 8 years or so I've helped coach my daughter's fastpitch softball team and I've been intrigued with the differences in substitution rules among the various travel leagues we have played in. One of the variations they have on a DH-style position has led me to believe that the following compromise might work for MLB: Change the rules so that the DH is used in both leagues, but tweak the DH role slightly so that the player listed as the designated hitter on the lineup card is directly "tied to" the starting pitcher. In other words, instead of the DH being "active" for the entire game...make it so that the DH is tied to a specific pitcher. So...when the starting pitcher is removed, so is the starting DH. Teams could then use a replacement DH but they'd have to specify that when making a pitching change. (Sort of like a double-switch.) What I like about this idea is that it gives the fans who no longer want to see terrible pitchers at the plate what they want. And it also gives those NL fans who say "but you'd eliminate a lot of the strategy of the game" some alternative strategy to consider. In practical terms, if a team had a great DH -- like, say, David Ortiz back in the day -- would the Red Sox feel confident enough about their starting pitcher going deep in the game to start Ortiz as the DH knowing he might only get 1-2 at-bats? Or would they save Ortiz to use in a higher-leverage pinch-hitting role? Would teams with great rotations be willing to splurge on a higher-priced DH while teams with shaky rotations just use a rotation of bench/utility players? And for teams that use an "opener" to start a game on the mound...who would you start at DH knowing that the player would only get one at-bat? There would be plenty of strategy to consider in this scenario. * Jacob: The other day when the two of you briefly mentioned the possibility of trading draft picks was discussed, I started to think about different things that could happen. Assuming GM's could trade picks many years in advance, how many consecutive first round picks would need to be traded in exchange for Mike Trout for the angels to accept the trade? Knowing the average 1st round draft pick is worth about 5 WAR and assuming the Mike Trout will accumulate about 25 WAR between now and the end of his contract with the Angels, would you think that about 5 first round draft picks would cause the mariners to make the trade or do you think it would need to be closer to 10 or 15 or 20? Also, would the angels be less likely to do this if they knew they were trading with a team like the Yankees or the Cardinals who are never tanking and would have picks in the back end of the first round as as opposed to a team that may give back higher valued picks? Lastly, can we agree that Jerry Dipoto would make the trade within hours of this rule being instated? * Alexander: What if every team got one mulligan a year? It could be used at any time - regular season or postseason - to erase the previous plate appearance and do it again. Give up a walkoff in an important game? Mulligan. Strike out with the bases loaded down one in the ninth? Mulligan. What would be the optimal strategy for using a mulligan? Would you use it relatively early in the season in a close game against your best division rival, or keep it in your back pocket for the playoffs? Would it end up being underused like the manager’s challenge, with teams holding on to their mulligan until it’s no longer useful? * Andrew (Patreon): How would baseball be different if pitchers didn't know who was batting, and just had to pitch based on what's working for them + what the umpire's calling + game theory? Side note, how would Barry Bonds' career have been different in this universe? One way mirror. Batters can see them, they can't see batter. Catcher can also not see. * Mark: All the talk around different eras a couple episodes ago got me thinking… Is there an “ideal” era? If 1968 was the “year of the pitcher,” if we are now in a high-homerun/three-true-outcomes era, if the 90s/2000s were a steroid-ridden era… Then when were the best years? I suppose there is a deeper philosophical discussion here about what baseball “should” look like, but I’d be curious to see what a statistical breakdown of baseball’s history would show is the middle-ground. I suppose my question is if we were to “make baseball great again,” when was baseball the "greatest" before? For what it’s worth, I like it just fine right now. Statblast * Max Stassi is still a rookie but has appeared in the majors for 5 years. * The players with the most seasons in MLB with rookie eligibility, 7 players have 7 years and 34 players have 6 years. * Paul Hoover is the most recent player with 7 years with rookie eligibility. * The longest is Bob Garbark is the longest with 11 years (1934 - 1945). * Rich Sauveur had the longest time between debut and loss of rookie eligibility, and holds the record for most teams pitched for with no wins. Notes * Jeff once hurt his back throwing out a banana peel, then fainted from pain and fell into the bathtub. * Martin Maldonado may have farted while getting hit by a pitch, it was probable that it was baby powder. * “Imagine picking a fight with the Marlins" - Jeff. * Jose Urena hasn't walked more than 2 batters in a start since opening day. * The first radio broadcast was on August 5th, the tradition of calling a game while not there is carried on or around that day by the Lansing team in the Midwest league, it happened for the Windy City Thunderbolts also after power was knocked out, the game was a no hitter. * Jon Gray strikeout minus walk rate while bases empty is 31%,with runners on only 7%. * “The Orioles have to start winning games or Buck Showalter has to start aging in reverse” - Ben. * The most games played in a single season is 164. * Eduardo Escobar has a 150 wRC+, Jeff is shocked. * Jeff thinks right now is the best era in baseball, due to the best players are playing now. * Mike Trout has been twice as valuable according to bWAR than the entire Baltimore Orioles team. Links * https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/effectively-wild-episode-1233-baby-powder-and-baby-cakes/ * Link to Steven Brault’s national-anthem performance * Link to Meg Rowley’s Lind article * Link to Maldonado’s HBP puff * Link to Jeff’s interleague-play post * Link to Vinny Castilla’s bat boning Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes